The first week of the summer session was exhausting, but by and large, it was also a success. Anyone could tell that there was a new energy on campus. The majority of students seemed excited about the changes that were going on, and the staff and faculty were riding that energy.
However, there were quite a few complaints, mostly from male students who were confused about the single-gender direction of the school, but their worries were generally assuaged once they understood that no one was being kicked out. And the prospect of men being rare on campus seemed to dawn on them.
I also fielded several concerns from faculty and staff. Their worries were mostly vague, and I wrote them off as simply not being comfortable with change, but there was also something else behind their discontent. Perhaps lingering loyalty to the previous principal? I really didn't see much option but to move forward and hope to win them over time.
I was also neck deep in work for my own class. As we were still low on staffing in history, I was handling an introductory Early History course. I hadn't taught post-secondary since grad school, and there it took much more time to set everything up than I had originally budgeted. The classroom dynamics were also slightly disconcerting. Perhaps because they were worried about having the principal as their teacher, or maybe just from the general student attitude on campus, the students were even more reticent in class than I was prepared for. I was going to need to find some way to shake things up and get them engaged, but there wasn't time for it at the beginning of class.
All this meant that there also wasn't much time for following up on my adventures with Jennifer and Kimberly. Everyone was putting all their time and effort into making sure that the beginning of the semester went well. I was really proud of the effort I saw, but even though I was deeply tired, I was a bit surprised at how horny I still was, and I was without any partner to help alleviate the problem except for my own hand.
I didn't even have time to reconnect with Veronica beyond grabbing a cup of coffee at the awful campus café. I shouldn't have been surprised, but she continued to lean slightly into her goth librarian fantasy look. Her hair was brought up tight in a bun, and she had jet-black form-fitting skirts, and every day a different shade of bold lickable lipstick. Because of her natural dark skin tone, she couldn't pull off the chalky powdered white makeup, but that only made her look hotter and more exotic in my eyes. On the day we had coffee, she wore black silk opera gloves for crying out loud. It would have been absurd if I weren't so turned on.
I did also notice that Kimberly's outfits continued to change, if only slightly. The temperature was kept fairly cool in the office, but outside it was quite warm, and she started leaving the heavy jackets at home. Her skirts remained ankle-length, but she was moving away from the dark blues and browns at least. I might have been mistaken, but it seemed that she was also calling me 'sir' more often, and putting herself into poses that showed her body off to the best effect when we were working together. In any case, she was as efficient and effective as she ever was, but with a little more bounce in her step. She also let her accent slip more than in the past.
When I came in to the office on that first Friday, I found Kimberly already hard at work as usual. I had told her over and over that she needed to make sure she wasn't going to burn out, but there was just so much paperwork to push, I understood why she wanted to get it all taken care of.
"Good morning, Principal Lee. I've got a few things for you to take a look at if you have a moment."
"Morning, Kimberly. Sure. Give me a sec to grab some tea and I'll meet you in my office."
Most of what she had was just papers to sign, students transferring around, teachers changing policies and nothing of big import. But then she brought something new.
"Ok. So, with that all done, we can get to the good stuff."
"Good stuff? It's about time!"
"Students have started putting together proposals for clubs. Recently, we did not allow clubs, but I think it would be a good idea to reconsider. I've got a few completed proposals for you to look at."
"Do I even want to know why we didn't allow clubs?"
"It was mainly a money issue. Each club proposes a budget, and most are quite reasonable, but some do require a bit of an outlay."
"Well, that's not as nefarious as I thought it would be. Ok, this could be fun, what are the proposals you have ready?"
She handed over the first few of a stack of manila folders.
"The first few are all basically similar. There's Dance Club, Film Club, Hiking Club, Anime and Manga Club, and Swim Club. They basically don't need much funding, maybe just a minimum for snacks and posters and such. They only really need a place to hold their meetings and activities. And you would need to approve their advisors."
"I don't see any trouble with the advisors as long as they are willing. Let's see... Swim club will need the pool, obviously. Jennifer's signed on, that's perfect. We would need to make sure one of the members is a certified lifeguard. Hiking Club... we'd need to make sure they've got some basic first aid training. Dance Club, Anime and Manga, and Film Club could use the theater once that's cleaned up, but for now we could put them in one of the bigger classrooms... Yeah, and these budgets are totally doable. Wait, what is the line here for sewing machine and fabric for the Anime Club?"
"Oh, right. She said they were going to be making costumes based on the shows."
"Oh. That's kind of cool. We should bring down that number for fabric, and see if they can make so with second-hand sewing machines. Alright, that's fine. These are great."
"Good. Now this one."
She handed over another folder.
"Ah, Journalism Club. Of course. That's a no brainer. I don't think we can do a print paper, but I'm sure Veronica can find space online for a campus paper. Oh, they don't have an advisor listed. One of the English teachers would be best. Have them get an advisor, but they can move forward. What else?"
"Here's one that might be expensive."
"Video Game Club? Oh, wow. That budget is high. Would they really need that many computers?"
"They say they want to field an esports team."
"Ah. Well, we can't do all of that at once. Fund them at half of what they are asking, but the computer purchases have to go through Veronica and the computers have to be available for campus use when the club isn't using them."
"Ok." Kimberly made some notes. "And here's the last one."
"Cooking club?"
"The reason I saved this one for last is that, A: it's pretty expensive to start up, and B: I think it might be a bigger thing than they have proposed."
"I think I might know where you are going with this."
"What if we approved the cooking club, but put them in charge of the café? They could make snacks to sell."
"And we could have them run things out of the theater kitchen. Once we open up that main door, we could move the café tables over there, but they could also use the audience area as well."
"Exactly."
"Ok. You're right. That will be more complicated, and of course, they would need to agree. They'd also need an advisor from the cafeteria staff. I assume you have someone in mind?"
"Well, I think I know someone who would be perfect."
"The other upside is that they'd get experience running and business, and at least eventually, if they ran it well, they could make a profit and get paid. Ok. Make sure we wouldn't be running afoul of any employment laws, and approve conditionally. Get the advisor on board and make sure the club leaders are willing."
"Ok, great. I'll get things moving."
"What's that last folder?"
"Oh, this one? I don't think it's ready. The Xu twins want a club, but their proposal is vague. I'm not sure exactly that they know what they want."
"The Xu twins?"
"Do you know them? They are a little... odd. Maybe it's just the twin thing. Anyway, they say they want a club that's some kind of cross between a drama club and a sorority. It's full of all sorts of stuff about 'sisterhood' and performance and I don't know what all else. I'm going to have them rewrite and resubmit."
"Huh. Okay. Oh, that reminds me. One condition of the clubs' approval is that everyone who will be using the theater is going to be drafted to help clean everything up in there. Can we do that this weekend? Is that too fast?"
"I don't think so. Things are pretty light on the first weekend of the semester. I think they would be willing if it means they get their club. If you want to do it, let me know and I'll get a hold of everyone. We'll need to notify everyone immediately though."
"Ok. Let's do it. Sooner is better. Cleaning party tomorrow, all related club members attend, including the Xu sisters and their crew. We may need Sunday, too, but at least Saturday."
"Who is going to organize everything?"
"I'll take care of it. I'll put them into groups and get the place fit."
"Do you need any help?"
"I don't want to take over your weekend, Kimberly. Remember, you are under strict orders to not over-work."
Later that afternoon, after my last class of the day, I made a point of dropping by the library to check in on Veronica and touch base about the clubs.
She was down in the basement finishing off her class, so I slid in as the students filed out. There was a small circle of students around her asking questions about a weekend assignment, so I just hung back and enjoyed the view.
She was in full teacher mode, fierce and strict, dealing with their questions with precision. She obviously cared a great deal about them, but the expressions they had were something between terror and worship. I could see how those emotions might be related for them. She was like an ancient goddess, avatar of both sex and doom.
When they finally got the answers they needed and left, she saw me and her façade utterly faded away.
"Ben! Oh, it's great to see you. Are you done for the day?"
We started to walk toward her office. "Done teaching anyway. You?"
"Yeah, lots still to do, but no teaching." She looked at me and smiled sweetly. "It's amazing how much things have already changed here. The students are really excited about the new classes."
"They're excited about you."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on."
"Really? Ok, fair. They may be scared of you too, but that blonde girl with the question about the coding thing? She is crushing hard on you."
Veronica's smile turned from sweet to something with a little more heat.
"Well, maybe..."
